The Innkeeper's Daughter: Prologue
by Maraba
Summary: Things are not all as they seem. Romance/Drama/Action
1. Default Chapter Title

The Innkeeper's Daughter  
By Maraba L.  
  
  
  
Author: Maraba L.  
E-Mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com  
Last Modified: 10/20/00  
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter  
Type of Work: Fanfiction: drama/romance  
Spoilers: none yet  
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish (later chapters), language  
Keywords: Chichiri, Tasuki  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
Tasuki groaned, "I am so damned tired!" the bandit kicked at a tuft of earth, running his hand through his flame colored hair in frustration. They had been traveling for days, at the behest of the empress. Vague reports had been tendered concerning a roaming band of brigands and the two seishi had been sent to investigate. Thus far their travels had turned up nothing.  
  
"Da" The monk sighed in agreement as they trudged through yet another village. "Let's see if we can find...umph!" the gasped and broke off as he crashed into a slender, running form.   
  
"Gomen! Gomen nasai!!"   
  
The monk looked down to find a slender young woman, clutching a small bundle of herbs looking up at him, striking blue eyes very wide, lip clenched between her teeth. He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. " It's ok, no da...are you alright?" he bent down and gathered up the few stray plants that had fallen to the ground as they collided.  
  
The girl nodded, looking down, " Hai." She took the herbs with a murmured thanks, blushing faintly as the monk's fingers brushed against her own.   
  
Chichiri frowned as he felt the spark of magic in the girl, then looked more closely, his frown deepening as he took in her disheveled clothing and frightened demeanor. "Are you..." he began quietly but Tasuki cut him off, shifting impatiently.  
  
"Hey, is there an inn in this village? We've been walking fer hours" he frowned as she stepped back, as though frightened. "We won't hurt ya...this is Chichiri and I'm Tasuki. Can you help us?"   
  
The girl nodded shyly, " My father runs the inn here." She turned and pointed. " Six houses down on the right. You can get a room there." She offered.  
  
The monk looked down the street then back to the girl before him. " Can you show us, no da?"  
  
The girl blinked at the 'no da' and her mouth quirked into a smile as she nodded. "Hai." Despite her quiet replies, her eyes were shining with intense curiosity as she surreptitiously observed the two seishi, but shyness if not courtesy forbade her from deluging them with questions. She merely turned and began walking toward the inn.  
  
"Wait, no da!" the monk smiled reassuringly as she turned back, a question in her wide eyes. " What is your name?"  
  
" Isatis." She quickly turned away, before the men could question her further and led them down the winding street to her father's inn, stopping a few paces away. " Here it is. I...I have to go." Before the men could say anything further, Isatis turned and scurried away.  
  
"Weird girl." Tasuki scratched his head. " Why was she so afraid of us?"  
  
The monk frowned, his eyes following the slender form as it disappeared down a side street. " I don't know, but I do know that girl has very strong magic in her...very strong."  
  
Tasuki shrugged and the two seishi walked into the inn. There were few patrons at that hour and as they took a seat at one of the tables, the Innkeeper scurried over almost immediately.   
  
"What can I do for you today?" the man was tall, broad-shouldered with hard, aquiline features and very penetrating dark eyes.  
  
Tasuki, " We need a room for-"  
  
"At least a week, possibly longer, no da." The monk cut him off, shooting Tasuki an unreadable glance as the bandit looked at him surprised. "And a meal, no da."  
  
"Meals are included." He quickly named a price and coins exchanged hands. "You two aren't from around here." It wasn't a question.  
  
"No, we're travelling on business." Chichiri said tersely. " We ran into your daughter and she directed us here."  
  
"Isatis?" the monk nodded and the man's eyes hardened. " I hope she didn't cause you any trouble." The innkeeper said shortly. "That girl is little more than street trash."   
  
Tasuki's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to argue, but Chichiri held up a hand in warning, silencing the bandit. " She was very polite." He smiled, though it didn't reach his eye, hidden though it was by his mask.   
  
The Innkeeper snorted, "Well, my other daughter Rowan helps out here...I'll send her over to take your order." He bowed shortly and hurried away. A few moments later a tall, willowly girl, elegantly coifed and manicured sauntered up to the table, giving the men an appraising look and twitching her hips invitingly.  
  
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" she smiled, leaning forward a bit to show off her ample cleavage.   
  
Tasuki coughed, "Um...whatever your house special is...and sake....."  
  
Chichiri rolled his eyes, " I"ll have the same, but water, no da." The girl hovered a moment, then seeing that the men were not inclined to indulge her presence any further, hurried away with a small pout.  
  
Chichiri leaned back, all his mental alarms going off. " Tasuki, something is very wrong here. I don't know what it is yet, but...something is not right."  
  
Tasuki snorted, " yeah...did you see the look that girl gave us? Like WE were the main course?" he shook his head grinning.  
  
Chichiri looked at him, removing his mask, "I am serious, no da. I want to stay for a time...I..." he glanced at the heavens. " we need to."  
  
Tasuki shrugged, " Fine by me. I've had my fill of wandering the countryside!" he leaned back, putting his feet on one of the chairs, conscious of every ache.  
  
The monk looked at the bandit and shook his head, amused. He was the only one who noticed when Isatis slipped in, scurrying quickly up the stairs.  



	2. Default Chapter Title

The Innkeeper's Daughter  
By Maraba L.  
  
  
  
Author: Maraba L.  
E-Mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com  
Last Modified: 10/20/00  
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter  
Type of Work: Fanfiction: drama/romance  
Spoilers: none yet  
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish (later chapters), language  
Keywords: Chichiri, Tasuki  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Chichiri rose early the next morning, long before dawn. For most of his adult life, he had grown accustomed to having his days bracketed by devotions and that was a habit his time with the seishi had not disrupted. The monk stretched for a moment, then knelt before a small, impromptu altar, his breath falling easily into the ancient disciplined patterns essential for his centering work. His mind and body flowed smoothly from one level of trance to a far deeper focus and he frowned as he became glaringly aware of the disharmony of his surroundings. He knew that places often held an unconscious imprint of their occupants and his mental alarms were going off at what he sensed at this inn. Making a mental note to investigate further, he allowed his consciousness to return to the pattern and rhythm of his breath, not ceasing until the first warmth of the sun penetrated the small window.   
  
After over an hour spent in meditation, he rose gracefully, stretching again before settling himself at the small desk in the room and proceeding to draft a missive to the Empress explaining their delay and providing a full report of their travels thus far. He was nearly finished when there was a small, hesitant knock at the door.   
  
"Come in, no da." The monk looked up, knowing from the auric signature, blazingly palpable to his mage gifted senses that it was Isatis. On impulse, he removed his mask, feeling oddly strange wearing it before her just as the door opened a bit and the waif-like girl slipped quietly in, her arms full of bedding and towels.   
  
"I've brought you fresh bedding." She explained shyly, her eyes on the floor. "And towels. Breakfast should be ready in a half an hour or so." She sat the linens down and quickly moved to strip the bed.   
  
"Arigatou, no da." The monk studied her curiously as she worked, noting how slender she was and again, how shabby her clothing in comparison to her sister's. He frowned slightly, recognizing from her demeanor all the signs of abuse. Isatis finished her work quickly and approached the desk, lingering more than she normally would have, drawn to the monk in a way that she could never have expressed in words.  
  
Chichiri looked up at her and smiled. " Sit with me awhile, no da?" doing his best to project reassurance. "I was just finishing up a letter." He smiled again.  
  
The girl glanced nervously at the door then nodded, taking a seat opposite him. " I...have finished my work for the morning....I can stay a little while." She said hesitantly, her voice little more than a whisper.   
  
"You work at your father's inn too?" the monk asked gently, not wanting to frighten her, having noted her nervousness.  
  
At his question, Isatis nodded a little, "Hai...I take care of the cleaning in the morning. I...my father doesn't...I don't work downstairs with the customers." She shrugged shyly, her eyes straying to his letter and glowing with a palpable hunger.   
  
Chichiri noticed the path her gaze had taken and cocked his head curiously, "Can you read, little one?" he asked softly, noting her wistful expression.  
  
Isatis shook her head, "Only a little and I don't write very well. My father said that schooling would only be wasted on me. I...I'm not very bright." Her cheeks flushed with shame and she looked away.   
  
The monk frowned at her words but he merely said, " I doubt that. Would you like to learn?" At her surprised glance he continued. " My friend and I are going to be staying here for a little while and I can teach you, no da." He smiled disarmingly.  
  
She nodded once, shyly. " I...I would like that...but I don't want to be I the way." Her eyes were wide and almost pleading as she glanced down at his papers again.  
  
Chichiri laughed, " You won't be in the way! It will be a delight, no da. We can start this afternoon if you like...maybe outside." He filed the expression of relief that flashed across her features away for future reference. "I'm sure you know somewhere quiet, no da."  
  
She nodded, " But I have nothing to trade." She replied quietly.  
  
The monk smiled gently, " There is no trade needed....teaching you will be gift enough." He had the pleasure of seeing her blush again. He knew the girl was full of questions that she would never, ever ask him and this would give him the opportunity to get to know her better. The flame of magic in the girl was strong, and almost completely untrained and his heart went out to her. He knew well how such a gift could devour its bearer unless the will was honed to harness the power.   
  
There was a sound outside the door and Isatis jumped up. "Gomen...I..I must go. There is a stream about half a league into the forest to the west of the inn...I can meet you there around noontime." She bowed to him politely and he nodded.  
  
"I would like that, no da." Frowning as she scurried quickly out of the room. He took out another piece of parchment and began making notes.  
  
  
Isatis slipped quietly out of the room. She had almost made it to the stairs when rough hands slammed her against the wall and a low, female voice hissed, " What were you doing in there, sister?"   
  
Isatis looked up into the cold eyes of her sister and shivered, "N..nothing...simply changing the bedding."   
  
Rowan sneered, "Taking a terribly long time to change bedding." She slammed her against the wall again. "All I'd have to do is tell father that you were bothering the customers," she grinned viciously, " And you wouldn't be walking for a week, you pathetic bitch."  
  
Isatis glared up at her sister, " I wasn't bothering him! He was asking me...about the inn." She improvised quickly, knowing better than to tell her sister of Chichiri's offer. "I wasn't bothering him!" the girl flushed again at her sister's brutal sneer.  
  
"Are you smitten, little sister?" she hissed softly, a malicious light shining in her eyes at Isatis's blush. "Do you really think that he could ever want you around, little sister?" Rowan sneered. " Do you really think that any man would ever want YOU around?"   
  
Tears came to Isatis's eyes and the girl shook her head in a silent 'no.'  
  
"You are such garbage. I don't know why father even bother's to keep you here." Rowan drew back her hand to slap the younger girl when a hard male voice interrupted her.  
  
"What's going on here?" Tasuki came up behind her, eyes blazing at the scene before him. He walked quickly over to the two girls, taking a stance between Isatis and her sister, turning cold eyes on the elder girl. Part of him noticed a strange heat emanating from Isatis, but his practical mind dismissed it in light of her sister's thwarted attack.  
  
Rowan bit back a snarl and turned a deceptively sweet expression on the seishi, "Nothing, just having a friendly conversation with my sister." Her eyes hardened as she met Isatis's frightened gaze.   
  
Tasuki snorted, " That didn't seem 'friendly' to me. I suggest you leave her alone. Now." He stared at the girl coldly. He didn't generally believe in striking women, but was truly itching to make an exception with this one.  
  
Rowan snorted, "You should be thanking me...she was harassing your friend, probably acting like a little slut."  
  
"I see only one person here acting like a slut." He said coldly, eyes flashing.  
  
"And Isatis was hardly bothering me." A second voice, calm and very controlled interrupted the growing cabal as Chichiri came to stand beside his friend. "I had questions and your sister was kind enough to answer them for me." He smiled impassively, "I hardly call that 'harassing.' She was most proper, I assure you."  
  
Rowan looked from one to the other then turned cold eyes on her sister, " I have work to attend to." She turned and swept down the stairs angrily.   
  
Isatis moaned softly as her knees went weak and both men moved to catch her before she collapsed. They eased the girl to the floor gently and Chichiri put his arms around her as she started to shake.  
  
"Did she hurt you?" Tasuki demanded, eyes still blazing. " I saw her getting ready to slap you." Isatis only shook her head, still shaking violently.  
  
"Shhhh." Chichiri soothed gently, "It's alright, she's gone now. Your safe right now." He stroked her hair softly, his brow quirking as he felt the girl ground her fear, fighting for calm. Grounding was a very basic exercise but not one she was likely to have learned by herself. Someone had taught her a little something at least, the man noted, his curiosity piqued.  
  
"Th..thank you." The girl whispered softly, her eyes staring after her sister.   
  
Tasuki hunkered down next to her, eyes softening as he observed the strain and fear in her eyes. " How often does she hit you?" he said quietly, voice brittle with anger.  
  
Her words tumbled out before she could stop them, " All the time! She and father...all the time!"she curled up tightly, wrapping thin arms around her legs. " I try to stay out of their way but it doesn't help. I'm afraid all the time. Father's friends...I'm afraid of what he will let them do." She shivered again. " They... their thoughts are wrong, foul...I stay away as much as possible. When.." she broke off, biting her lip.  
  
"When...?" Tasuki prompted with surprising gentleness but the girl only shook her head. He looked at the monk , confused. Chichiri however was not.  
  
"When you are older," the monk whispered softly, " you will leave." At the girl's small nod, he continued. " How long have you had the magic open?"  
  
Isatis's response was immediate. Her head snapped up and she stared from one man to the other, eyes filled with pure terror. "I...I have no magic!" she gasped hoarsely, her heart beating very quickly, her body very, very tense. Again, she flushed with a very strange heat, a sign, Chichiri realized, of the magic in her blood seeking form and focus.  
  
Chichiri sighed sadly and smiled at her, " I have it too, Isatis. It is a gift."  
  
The girl shook her head violently, " I have no magic!" she again insisted, scooting away from them, pulling herself quickly to her feet. Sounds from the dining room filtered up through the stairs and Isatis was obviously torn between the desire to flee and the possible chance of meeting her sister again.   
  
"We're not going to hurt you." Tasuki held out his hands disarmingly, as the girl looked from one man to another like a deer caught in a hunter's sights. "All the seishi have magic...no one will hurt you for that."  
  
"I...I have to go." She stammered, fleeing down the stairs before either man could stop her. Tasuki ran a hand through his hair as the monk signed and leaned back against the wall.  
  
"What the hell was that all about?" the red-haired seishi looked at his companion in consternation. "What the hell is going on here?"  
  
Chichiri replaced his mask carefully, taking a deep breath before replying. " I do not know, Tasuki-kun, but I do know that I feel the hand of Suzaku hammering at my back whenever I am near that girl." The monk looked at Tasuki, the pleasant visage of the mask not deceiving the ex-bandit. " And I do not think it has only to do with the magic."  
  
Tasuki pulled himself to his feet, extending a hand to help the monk up. " What did she mean about her father's 'friends'?' the frowned thoughtfully. "Chichiri, something very screwed up is going on...I want to check it out." He said firmly as the monk nodded in agreement.   
  
Chichiri looked down the stairs, where Isatis had fled, " And I have a meeting with our young mageling...if she keeps it, no da... though I think she will." He turned back to his friend. "Be very careful. I do not like what I am sensing here, Tasuki." His expression was grim but the younger man merely nodded, fingering his fan.  
  
  



	3. Default Chapter Title

The Innkeeper's Daughter  
By Maraba L.  
  
  
  
Author: Maraba L.  
E-Mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com  
Last Modified: 10/20/00  
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter  
Type of Work: Fanfiction: drama/romance  
Spoilers: none yet  
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish (later chapters), language  
Keywords: Chichiri, Tasuki  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Tasuki lingered over the remnants of his breakfast, calmly surveying the few other patrons of the inn through slitted eyes, all the while making mental notes and wishing, a bit enviously that he possessed just a little of Chichiri's mind magic. The monk was right, the ex-bandit thought to himself, there was something going on at this inn. For one thing, the owner was far too wealthy. The discreet, though to Tasuki's practiced eye, high quality of the inn-master's possessions was setting off vague mental alarms in the seishi. From what he had observed and overheard thus far, there were only a handful of regular patrons and none that would provide the type of affluence he had witnessed. The village was not located along a major trade route and the inn-keeper had no other obvious means of support.   
  
Tasuki's gaze sharpened as he noticed Rowan talking to her father and glaring angrily in his direction. Stifling a smirk, the man crossed his booted legs on the chair opposite him and leaned back in his chair, unable to hear the exchange but noting the father's eyes flicking over him suspiciously. His curiosity was further roused by the delivery of several packages which broke up the familial exchange, sending Rowan back to waiting tables. Tasuki noted the fact that the delivery men looked a bit too well armed before turning his attention to the girl. Putting on his best arrogant smirk, he reached out and seized her arm as she moved past him.  
  
"I hope you won't hold our earlier exchange against me." He purred rakishly as she turned to face him, features contorted in fury. " Had to keep up appearances in front of that damned monk." He spat contemptuously. "Shit, I'll be glad when this assignment is over." He ran his eyes over her appreciatively. " I'd much rather have my time free for more...entertaining pursuits." He leered up at her, one fang glistening in the morning light.   
  
Rowan flipped her hair over her shoulder and the hostility of her expression shifted to a calculating, lustful gleam. "What are you doing with that monk anyway? You don't seem like a religious man to me." She purred, leaning close to him, exposing a great deal of cleavage as she did so.  
  
Tasuki snorted, "Bodyguard. Pain in the ass too...he's a fucking do-gooder, always nosing about where he's neither wanted nor needed." He caressed her arm with one thumb. "This job pays well enough but.....I'll be free for other things soon enough."  
  
Rowan smiled, taking a seat next to him. "He should learn to mind his own business." She fingered his shirt teasingly. "He doesn't know my sister...like I do."   
  
Tasuki was very proud of himself for resisting the urge to slap the arrogant pout off her face. Instead he shrugged, "He's a sucker for a damsel in distress." He snorted, the cocked his head as if in thought. "I know people who would pay a great deal to have your sister as a plaything. She doesn't seem to be good for much." Again he shrugged. "You could make a bit of money on her." He calmly took a drink of his tea, noting her every reaction.  
  
Rowan smiled again, " Oh, we already have plans for her. Why else do you think father would keep her around?" she ran a hand over the hard muscles of his upper arm. "She doesn't know it though, pathetic cow that she is." The girl's expression grew hard and contemptuous."  
  
Don't be too sure of that, Tasuki thought to himself though outwardly he looked completely disinterested in the fate of Rowan's younger sister. "Whatever. I'm Genrou." He grinned rakishly at her.   
  
Rowan breathed his name once, licking her lips, "And where's your monk now, Genrou?"  
  
The flame-haired man shrugged, "Meditating, praying, jerking off for all I know. He told me he wanted time alone which is just fine by me." He plucked her hand off his shirt and nipped at one finger. "It's very lonely traveling with a monk." He purred.  
  
Rowan smiled, batting his eyes, "You don't have to be alone tonight, Genrou." She caressed jaw teasingly. "Surely even monks have to sleep."  
  
Tasuki's smirk widened, "Are you offering companionship? Such a beautiful woman, I'm not sure I'd be able to control myself." His eyes burned into hers but her smile merely deepend.  
  
"I'm hoping you don't." she breathed, her hand running down his chest to caress his groin beneath the table.   
  
Tasuki chuckled and caught her hand, bringing it to his lips, " Tonight, my dear." He promised, eyes gleaming. "You don't want to get me all hot and bothered now do you?"   
  
Rowan only smirked, "My room is the last on the left, same floor as yours. I'll leave the door unlocked." She smiled as he traced her lips. "Maybe I can speak to my father, we can always use another" her eyes raked over him hotly, "able bodied man for our...other pursuits."  
  
Tasuki grinned, nipping at her fingers again, "I think I'd like that." Boldly, he undressed her with his eyes. "I think I'd like that a lot. You're much more pleasing than any monk." He grinned.   
  
Rowan only snorted and stood up, " I have to get back to work." She smiled, twitching her hips invitingly. "I'll see you tonight, Genrou."  
  
Tasuki leered up at her, eyes lit with what she obviously thought was anticipation. "And I had better go hunt up that damned monk." He sighed heavily pulling himself to his feet as she gave him a sympathetic look. He moved past her, surreptitiously caressing her ass and stalked out the door.   
  
He made it past two houses before turning into an alleyway and leaning heavily against the wall, wondering if he'd gotten himself into more than he could handle.   
  
  
  
Isatis sighed as her skin slipped away, borne by the pulsating rhythm of her breath and her blood. Following the thread of energy, the life-cord that ran though and from her body, she left the world above and descended to the world below, her spirit rejoicing in the freedom found only when bereft of physical form. To the drumbeat of her life-breath, will directed spirit and she took the form of a white magpie, darting swiftly through the ever shifting tapestry of the between-worlds realm, heeding the whispered call that only she could hear.   
  
The inner-earth opened to receive her essence and her winged form descended to alight in a high vaulted chamber coming to rest before a bubbling obsidian fountain. As will again summoned spirit, the girl's body shifting again into shining human spirit-form, she heard a low, melodious voice wrapping around her soothingly, "Welcome, daughter."  
  
  
Chichiri was almost to the stream when he felt the rushing breath of magic resonating around him. Quickening his pace, feeling the beating of phoenix wings about his shoulders, he broke into a run only to stop in shock as the stream came into view. Sitting cross-legged, partially hidden beneath the boughs of a weeping willow tree, Isatis sat eyes closed, hands resting palms up on her knees totally oblivious to the outside world. The monk stared in shock and felt his knee begin to burn as his seishi symbol flared in response to the girl before him. For though the tree might conceal her form, it could not and did not conceal the brilliant violet flame emanating from the girl's heart, a flame that formed the pattern of a sigil, marking her as a chosen warrior.   
  
  



	4. Default Chapter Title

The Innkeeper's Daughter  
By Maraba L.  
  
  
  
Author: Maraba L.  
E-Mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com  
Last Modified: 10/20/00  
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter  
Type of Work: Fanfiction: drama/romance  
Spoilers: none yet  
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish (later chapters), language  
Keywords: Chichiri, Tasuki  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Stifling his shock, the monk carefully walked over to where the young girl sat. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and his seishi mark pulsed almost painfully as he drew closer to her. As he carefully took a seat opposite Isatis, the girl gasped, her body jerked as her soul came plummeting back into her physical form. The girl opened her eyes dazedly and put one hand to her heart, which moments before had been glowing with violet flame as she raised her eyes to meet the monk's.  
  
"You saw." Isatis said quietly, fear twining with sadness in her eyes.   
  
Chichiri nodded once, reaching out quickly to take her hand in his. The girl gasped and looked at him surprised, the dropped her eyes quickly. The monk's expression softened as he massaged the back of her hand with his thumb, doing his best to project and aura of safety and comfort. "Why the fear, little one?" he whispered softly and reached out to touch the spot between her breasts that moments ago had been alive with God-fire. "I will not hurt you, no da."  
  
She nodded slowly, "But...you might get hurt." A painful grimace flashed across her features and the girl stiffened slightly.   
  
Chichiri smiled tenderly, " By your magic?" Isatis shook her head so the monk continued, "By your father? Your sister?" Again a razor sharp grimace of pain flashed across her face and the girl turned wide, frightened eyes on the man before her.  
  
"I...have no sister." She gasped out, doubling over as if in agony.  
  
The monk reached out to the girl, gathering her into his arms, trying to sooth her shaking. She nestled in his arms fighting back tears as he stroked her back. As she fought to calm her breathing, Chichiri frowned, catching the trace of a very malignant magic, not hers. His attempt to trace it was sabotaged by his concern for the anguished girl in his arms however, and he turned his attention fully on her, nuzzling her hair tenderly. "Shhh, you're safe here. It's ok, little one. I won't let your sister hurt you." He broke off as Isatis began to shake her head emphatically.  
  
"No.." she winced again, her eyes closing in pain for a brief moment. "You don't understand...you don't see. I've tried to escape here for years....I...Rowan isn't a.." suddenly she broke off, face paling and body going rigid. Through clenched teeth, she gasped out. "This place....unclean." Then her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted in his arms.   
  
"Isatis??" Chichiri tilted her head back, alarmed at her pallor and the cold, clamminess of her skin. Pulling off his kesa, he wrapped the slender girl up in the warm fabric, wishing for the first time that it was Mitsukake's gifts that he wielded. Under normal circumstances, he would have gathered her up and rushed back to her home, but he knew full well that she would garner no help there so he merely held her close, warming her within the comforting circle of his arms and praying to Suzaku until color began to return to her cheeks and her eyes fluttered open dazedly.  
  
"G-gomen.." she whispered softly, struggling to sit up.   
  
Chichiri put a finger to her lips, "Shhh, no need to apologize, little one." He said quietly, concern plainly etched on his gentle features. "Are you alright, no da?" he stroked her hair away from her face as the girl looked away nodding once.   
  
Isatis took a deep breath, " I must go....they.."  
  
Chichiri didn't release her, " Wait... you said that you had tried to escape this place before....?"he broke off as her face convulsed in pain again, the girl nodding once and beginning to tremble. "Isatis?" The man frowned, feeling her life force struggling against something utterly unseen, yet utterly malign.  
  
The girl gave a little cry and stumbled to her feet shakily. " Please...it's not safe for you here." She gasped then turned and fled before he could stop her.  
  
The monk gasped as he felt the fingers of his God hammering at him, warning him, commanding him. But in truth, he needed no such impetus to help the fleeing girl, his heart and will having been claimed by her already. Slowly Chichiri pulled himself to his feet, gaze following the path Isatis had taken with concern. He knew well the symptoms and signs of a magical attack and without a doubt, he had just witnessed one of great magnitude. Frowning, he went off in search of Tasuki.  
  
He hadn't gone far when he felt the auric surge of another seishi's presence. Chichiri stopped, leaning against a tree and within seconds, Tasuki broke through the foliage, face grim. "There you are! I was hoping I'd find you. Where's Isatis?" The ex bandit walked quickly over to he monk, his step carrying none of the usual rakish arrogance.   
  
Chichiri sighed, " She....Kuso!" He cursed softly, making his companion's eyes go wide. "I came upon her meditating, Tasuki...she has a mark, like we do."  
  
"WHAT? That's impossible!" the bandit sputtered, but the elder man merely held up a hand.  
  
"Apparently not. It's not Suzaku though...I'm not entirely certain WHO it is. At any rate, we talked for a brief time. She was trying to tell me something about this place, about her family and I swear she was attacked magically." He shook his head. "Whatever happened, she was knocked unconscious. She's alright now, but I know I'm missing something very important." He cursed again softly. "I know I am."  
  
Tasuki put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, maybe I'll be able to help you with that." Briefly, he outlined his morning's conversation with Rowan and his plan. " I figure I'll be able to search her rooms...."  
  
"YOU DID WHAT???" The monk roared, turning to face the bandit-seishi utterly flabbergasted.   
  
Tasuki had the good grace to look sheepish, " It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was hoping you'd have a spell or something to knock her out." He grimaced. "She's not exactly my type."  
  
Chichiri was cursing softly, under his breath, "Tasuki, what were you thinking, no da?! I think that woman is quite dangerous!"  
  
The younger seishi nodded, " I'm sure of it...but I wanted to dispel any suspicion about us...and she was suspicious, I think. I also figured it would be an effective way of gaining information. She's not the brightest creature on the planet." He smirked.  
  
The monk just shook his head. "I can't believe you, no da! There's too much we don't know..."  
  
"And this is a chance to find out." Tasuki insisted. "Look, I don't plan to actually...." He coughed and gave the monk an apologetic glance. "sleep with her...you knock her out with your magic, I search her rooms, she wakes up none the wiser and thinking she had the best night of her life." He grinned rakishly.  
  
Chichiri only shook his head. "I don't want to use any magic if I don't have to." He held up a hand to forestall Tasuki's protest. "Frankly, I'm afraid it would be noticed, no da. Isatis, right before she passed out, said something about this place being unclean." He sighed and looked at his friend. "I may be able to work up a sleeping potion but next time, Tasuki...discuss your plans with me beforehand."   
  
The flame-haired seishi nodded sheepishly, " I will...the opportunity presented itself and..."  
  
"And you rushed right in, no da." The monk rolled his eyes. "it's not a bad idea in itself, but there are so many variables here. I know that we're missing something vital." He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. "I can't believe you, no da." He shook his head at his companion.  
  
Tasuki grinned, showing his fangs, " I just figured I'd put my natural charm to good use."  
  
Chichiri snorted, "Natural charm, my ass, no da."  
  
"Mine is cuter." The younger seishi teased as the monk rolled his eyes heavenward praying for forbearance.   
  



	5. Chapter Five

Author: Maraba L.  
E-mail: woad_isatis@yahoo.com  
Last Modified: 07/25/01  
Title: The Innkeeper's Daughter  
Type of work: fanfiction: drama/romance  
Spoilers: none yet.  
Warnings: mature subject matter, lemonish, language, violence  
Keywords: Tasuki, Chichiri  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
Tasuki moaned, back arching as Rowan raked sharp nails down his back, "Please...no more..." he cried, every fiber of his body alight with a searing pain. "Please...stop." his hips thrust savagely into her governed by a rhythm that he neither initiated nor controlled.   
  
"More...must have more." The woman moaned arching beneath him, running her nails down his tight ass. "So rich." she purred.  
  
Tasuki cried out and sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat.   
  
"Yokatta!" Chichiri swore softly, bending over him. The monk looked as though he had not slept in days. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked very haggard. "Do you have any idea how long you've been unconscious?"  
  
Tasuki blinked, trying to focus his eyes, groaning at the ache in every part of his body. "What happened?" he croaked hoarsely, one hand reaching out to grip the monk's wrist spasmodically.   
  
"You've been unconscious for three days." The elder seishi said grimly. "You don't remember anything?"  
  
Tasuki shook his head, "Only that the sleeping potion I gave Rowan didn't work. Shit!" he cursed softly, trying to pull himself into a sitting position, closing his eyes as the world began to spin dangerously.   
  
"Easy." Chichiri steadied him and helped him to sit up. "I found you in the forest. Your chi was so weak that..."the monk paled, " it was almost imperceptible. I ...for a moment I thought you were dead." He admitted. "I wouldn't have found you at all if not for Isatis."  
  
Tasuki stared at the monk, "How ...what does she have to do with it...." he groaned again.  
  
Chichiri sighed and handed the younger seishi a glass of water. "Three days ago Isatis disappeared as well."  
  
The bandit-seishi shook his head trying to clear his senses, "Wait, if she disappeared how did she help you find me?"  
  
The monk sighed, "I was visited in a dream..."  
  
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Tasuki looked at the monk like he'd gone insane, " a dream?"  
  
Chichiri sighed, "Please, Tasuki...I'll explain everything, no da...just...bear with me."  
  
Tasuki looked at the monk and with a pang realized that his friend had probably not slept at all for the past few days, "Ano, Chichiri...I'm sorry..."  
  
The monk smiled wanly, "It's ok...but I think I know what's going on... at least part of it. When I couldn't find you, I started looking for Isatis. She was gone, as was Rowan. I wasn't able to locate either one of you even with magic." There was an anguished look in his eyes as he began to recount the events of the past few days...  
  
  
Two days previous...  
  
  
Chichiri slumped against the wall of the building, running a hand through his bangs, face contorting in frustration. He'd been over every inch of the town to no avail. "Where are you, Tasuki, no da?" he whispered to himself, closing his eye briefly, as he slid down the wall in exhaustion.   
  
The wind picked up slightly and the monk shifted, letting the refreshing breezes wash over his body. After a few moments of rest, he sighed and opened his eye then leapt up into a battle ready crouch with a startled gasp, gazing around in shock. For Chichiri was no longer in the alley. When he opened his eye what surrounded him was a surreal landscape of shifting hues and patterns, a cacophony of delicately spun light and shadow as seemingly fragile as a spider's web and it glowed with an eerie phosphorescence that made his blood sing.   
  
Chichiri knew this place, not well, but he knew it. It was an in-between place, a place neither of the physical world nor apart from it, a place where power flowed like water from a rushing stream and doors both benevolent and malign were opened. What he didn't know is how he had gotten there.   
  
Straightening up, he began to examine his eldritch surroundings, taking a moment to find his center in the wildly shifting currents of this magical realm. Looking around, he spied a faint lavender glow that flickered and danced, curling first around him before disappearing into the landscape to reappear, almost as though it was beckoning him to follow. Amidst the strange whispering harmonies, rising from each eddying shadow and glimmering strand, the monk heard his name, chiming with a potent, inexplicably compelling force.   
  
Cautiously, Chichiri began following. Soon the amethyst mist rose to dance around him, carrying him foward. "Do you see?" it whispered. "Do you know? The key is here." the mist parted before him to reveal a gaping chasm, a wound in the fabric of place and time, jagged and torn, scarred and mangled. "Thus has it ever been." The voice whispered. "For eons, from before the beginning." Chichiri shuddered as something black, ichorous and vile began crawling out of the chasm.  
  
The amethyst mist coalesced into a woman's form, regal of bearing, stern of countenance. "Across the planes of being, there have ever been those places wherein being must battle corruption and it is your world which all to often pays the price."   
  
The images before him shifted, revealing two women, wiry, strong who radiated a diamond-hard power. "Guardians were chosen." The being at his side continued. "Entrusted with the duty of holding back corruption." The monk stared riveted as images of battle and destruction played themselves out before his eyes.   
  
"One family was bound to this land, this place, a sacred oath passed down from mother to daughter, father to son. And in this place..." The images before the man tumbled one into the other, each dying warrior being replaced by another, younger guardian-sworn. "She is the last." The image of Isatis appeared before the roiling gateway.  
  
The monk stared in shock, "You mean ...she is a guardian of the land? But..." he shook his head confused and the figure beside him grew somber.   
  
"Be not deceived by fragile appearances. Of all her line, she alone survived to serve. Her blood is thick with the power of her ancestors." Black tendrils slithered from the gaping maw before the girl, winding up her arms and legs, piercing her flesh, binding her to the corrupted crevasse.   
  
"Stop it!! Do something!!" Chichiri cried out as the girl's face contorted in a silent mask of agony, a shadowy form rising behind her from the pit.   
  
Unmoved, the woman at his side continued, "Long before life, this one chose to drink of my waters, to fortify herself with my power. I do not choose often, but I choose very well." The images before him vanished. "Many years ago," she continued, "this family attempted to close the gateway you observed. They failed." Her countenance grew grim. "And in losing that battle, the gateway came under the control of those beings who thrive only on chaos and destruction. You call them demons but before the Courts of Heaven they are denied the acknowledgement of a name. The family, which had for generations guarded this boundary, was exterminated save one." Again the image of Isatis coalesced before him, flickering in the tides of power commanded by the being at his side. "While she lives, they cannot fully command the gateway and yet, though the magic in her blood has yet to blossom fully, until this point she could not be killed. While the Guardian lives, these creatures have limited substance on your plane of being." The woman sighed heavily. "Sadly, that is no longer the case."  
  
Chichiri regarded the being, concern etched plainly on his face. "What do you mean? What has changed?" he had a sick, twisted feeling in the pit of his stomach, the image of Isatis impaled upon malignant filaments, writhing in anguish burned into his consciousness.  
  
  
  
"What rose up out of the pit to devour my chosen warriors, assumed their flesh. They have existed in a place that is neither of this realm nor of yours, luring passers-by with promises of pleasure and wealth. They feed on the gifted, destroying those with magic who have the misfortune to fare their way. Until now, they have been unable to garner enough power to call forth their brethren and strike at my Guardian, though long have they tormented her and held her bound. The life force of a God-chosen warrior is strong however, and rich in power. The balance has shifted."  
  
"Tasuki." Chichiri breathed, his eye closing as the knowledge of what they'd inadvertently done struck him like a blow to his solar plexus.   
  
The woman nodded, "The succubus who impersonates the sister fed on his life-force. Now, they prepare the Guardian for sacrifice four days hence and weakened as she has been with years of fighting, she will die and they will rise." The woman's gaze shifted to the mist, unreadable.  
  
Chichiri's hands curled into defiant fists, " No, she won't. Not if we have anything to say about it." He whispered fiercely, earning a cold smile from the woman at his side.   
  
"There is a bond between you and the Guardian." She nodded knowingly. "You will find her in the sacred grove. Long has it been desecrated. It is the nexus." She bowed her head once. "Your companion lies dying in that grove."   
  
The woman's body began to shimmer, glowing with an unearthly amethyst light.   
  
"Wait!" the monk reached out a hand suddenly. "Who are you?"  
  
Bathed in a cascade of phosphorescent flame, the woman regarded him. "Meng. I cradle departed souls until they are reborn anew. I am life and death, the Goddess you call upon when for your souls the worlds part. I hold the waters of memory. Protect my sword." She commanded and as the monk watched respectfully, faded from his sight.   
  
Blinking his eyes, Chichiri staggered against the wall of the building, finding himself once again in the physical, corporeal world. Sparing a moment to gather his thoughts, not daring to use the very magic that would betray his presence, the monk set off at a run for the forest and the waiting body of his friend.   
  
  
The present, three days after the spirit journey....  
  
  
Chichiri looked at Tasuki, running a hand through his bangs with a tired sigh. "We don't have much time to spare. Do you think you can walk?"  
  
Tasuki nodded and groaned, " Yeah, I'll be fine. I"m sore as hell though." He stretched, cracking his back and sliding out of bed, reaching for the steely comfort of his tessen. The monk bit his lip when he saw the claw-marks criss-crossing the bandit's naked back, grateful that Tasuki hadn't thought to ask precisely WHAT a succubus was!  
  
As the bandit quickly dressed, Chichiri gathered his staff, praying to Suzaku for strength.  
  
Tasuki tucked his tessen into his belt turning to nod grimly to his friend. "Let's go. I hope we're not already too late."   
  
The monk favored Tasuki with a hollow gaze, "If we were, we'd know it." The mindless destruction he had witnessed during his spirit journey replayed themselves in his mind. "We'd definitely know."  
  
Tasuki nodded once and it was only as the two men left the in, that he thought to ask, "You said Isatis had a seishi symbol...what was it?"  
  
The monk's heart pounded in his chest and for a moment he wondered at the crushing sense of foreboding that crashed down around him. "Sword. Her symbol is the kanji for sword."  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
One more chapter to go!! I'll try to have it posted by mid-August, as soon as I return from vacation.   
  
Lady Meng is an ancient Chinese Goddess of the Underworld, very similar to the Norse Goddess Hella. She gathers the souls of all the dead and before they can be reborn, she offers them a drink of sacred broth from her chalice. (I believe this is her symbol.). This is the water of forgetfulness and will ensure that as souls pass into new life, they do not carry the memories of previous incarnations with her. Like all Underworld Goddesses, she is very much associated with ancestral veneration, magic and shamanic initiation.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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